Whistler And Blackcomb Unite

Until now, the Village at Whistler was the only thing physically uniting Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, but all that is set to change with the announcement of the Peak To Peak Gondola. The gondola will span from Blackcomb’s 6,102-foot-high Rendezvous Lodge to the 6,069-foot-high Whistler Roundhouse with only four towers in between. The Peak To Peak is set to be a year-round tourist attraction, claiming both the world record for length and height. But hear this, this ain’t no clunky tram-the 28 cabins will be able to move 2,050 people per hour between the two peaks. So say you want to shred deep snow on the peak all morning at Whistler and then hit the Nintendo Terrain Park at Blackcomb in the afternoon without a hike through the village-that’s the kind of easy access this is about. Upon completion, in addition to the adrenaline rush of dangling 1,362 feet in the air over Fitzsimmons Creek and about a mile away from the nearest tower, riders will be able to access over 8,171 acres of terrain on both mountains. Whistler local Etienne Gilbert has a few other ideas of what he’d do with a cool 50-mill’ if he was the CEO of Whistler, but in general, he’s stoked, he says, “With global warming, the snow level might go up the hill as the years go by, this will help riders to stay in the freezing levels all day.” Start making your plans to head to Whistler before all hell breaks loose with the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler.-A.F.